Lew Rockwell expresses it thus:
Sarah...is both beautiful and professionally accomplished, a wife and mother and a natural politician, both religious and secular, both feminine and fears no tasks such as hunting that are usually associated with men. She offers a different model of a woman who has excelled not through intimidation and aggressive demands for reparation, but through her own efforts, charms, and intelligence.
What's more, her political outlook has much to recommend it, from what we can gather so far. There is a libertarian impulse here. She has rejected the perks of public life in favor of common sense. She is friendly to business interests but unfriendly to special privileges. She has praised Ron Paul and rejected the party mentality of GOP regulars.
It strikes many people as a brilliant choice on McCain's part, and I would agree. Social conservatives have forgiven all of McCain's deviations. Many people who just last week didn't give a fig about whether he wins or loses have come around completely. She will, of course, be a huge focus of the campaign.
The claim against her that she lacks "experience" is one of the most bogus things out there. For starters, the history of VPs shows a long history of people with very little of what is called "experience" today. And contrary to what media pundits say, what is far more important than experience are the political values you hold.
And I wish everyone would leave Mrs. Palin's teenage daughter alone. There is no perfect family. It sounds to me that the Palins are trying to handle a difficult situation with love and grace. The Washington Post reports on how Mrs. Palin balances work and motherhood. It reminds me of how Empress Maria Theresa would be signing state papers while in labor. Or how Queen Isabel of Castile would take her children along on the campaigns against the Moors. Share
14 comments:
+JMJ+
I generally don't think that politics is a field for women who have young children, but the more I hear about Sarah Palin, the more I think that this may be not just a career for her, but also a vocation.
That could very well be, Enbrethiliel. In that case, it is a very difficult calling. Nothing that I personally would choose. But we live in strange times.
I think it was a brilliant choice as well! THe other criticism they are trying against her is that her husband and eldest son are registered as Independent instead of Republican. To me, this is a huge major plus!! It means they don't trust the GOP either! :)
Elena, you surprise me.
Yes, Georgette, I think she was a brilliant choice in an otherwise unspectacular campaign.
Yes, Terry, I'm full of surprises.
Well, I guess the course of action that would please some people is to ship the daughter off, hide her somewhere until after the baby is born and then try to pretend the whole thing did not happen. That’s how it would have been handled a hundred years ago.
Just because people like myself are not ready to stone Bristol Palin(who will soon be married) does not mean that we approve of premarital sex.
Before 1979, Margaret Thatcher was often vilified in the UK for having "little experience". Didn`t seem to cause her a problem
This is such a lovely blog and I revisited today seeking solace from all the upsetting political controversy in the news, but it seems to be inescapable. Marie Antoinette first brought me here some time ago, along with my love of history, and it's such a gentle, uplifting and spiritual place. I thank you for it. I hope you don't mind if I add my two cents? I don't think that it's the fact that Sarah Palin's daughter is pregnant that is of concern, at least not for me. It is the fact that, knowing her daughter was pregnant, and knowing that this would become so public, so controversial, so hurtful - how could she not know? - even so, she chose to accept the VP nomination rather than to protect her daughter's privacy by declining. As a mother, this just feels wrong to me. How often I've put my child's best interests ahead of my own desires, however painful to me! Not being willing to postpone one's political aspirations to protect one's child at such a vulnerable time seems so self-serving to me.
Yes, Cheryl, I usually try to keep this blog a serene place. I do occasionally have a post about politics, and other events in the news. Not often though.
As I said, it is not the path that I would choose as a mother, especially if I had a daughter in a vulnerable situation.
But then, if I had been Empress Maria Theresa, I would never have sent my immature fourteen year old daughter to France into a situation which she was not able to handle.
I think that in the history of politics we often see the children of political figures sacrificed for political expediency. Not something I would want on my conscience. I like Sarah Palin, but her family needs our prayers.
+JMJ+
I think it was Jeff Culbreath who pointed out on Steve Skojec's 'blog that if Palin has a vocation to politics on the national level, then her family has been called to it, too. It may be that Sarah was willing to say no for her daughter's sake, but that Bristol wanted her mother to go ahead, anyway.
That's all speculation, of course, but it seems to me that we've all been looking at it from a parent's point of view. I can't remember hearing or reading an opinion that didn't begin with something like, "If Bristol were my daughter . . ." Well, let's try to look at it from Bristol's point of view. If Sarah Palin were your mother and you believed that she was the best person to be a heartbeat away from the highest office in the land, wouldn't you make the equally self-sacrificing choice to let your pregnancy be thrust into the national spotlight? Who cares what other people think, anyway, when you have your family's and fiance's unconditional love and support?
I read Jeff's comment and I agree with him. And we must remember that in our own Catholic history sometimes women have been called to step into roles traditionally assumed by men. Sometimes extraordinary times have called for that. I am thinking mainly of St. Joan of Arc. And we have our Catholic Queens like Isabel of Castile, who donned armor, and Empress Maria Theresa, who governed the Holy Roman Empire while raising 16 children. Those women were called in exceptional circumstances to take on certain roles because the men were unavailable. Such circumstances are the exception, not the rule. Those woman all remained very feminine in spite of their duties. Not to compare Sarah Palin to any of those women; if elected she will only be a VP-- not a Queen, or a leader of armies.
A family's unwed pregnant teenage daughter is private business between that family, that family's confessor, and GOD! Besides, "being pregnant" is not a sin! It's the sex-outside-of-marrage that's the sin so why should anyone care that the teen daughter is pregnant? That's a blessing from God, not a dirty or shameful thing!!
Exactly. Every child is a gift.
Cheryl W: Frankly, I am surprised at the level of viciousness and hypocricy of the media as regards Sarah Palin's daughter. Do you recall such attacks against any of the slew of Hollywood celebrities who have babies out of wedlock? Bristol Palin and her baby's father are getting married...a pro-life message that is, no doubt, at the heart of those nasty attacks.
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